Influences!
Let’s all face the facts. The projects that we work on are going to be forgotten. The company we are building will probably one day be forgotten. The things we accomplish, the awards we receive, all this fades. What lasts is the influence that we have on people and the ways that we impact their lives for the better. And if we do it right, we can influence not just one generation but multiple generations.
Typical approaches to influencing the behavior of economically fragile people often fail to respect their inherent dignity. Such approaches may include offering financial handouts that are humiliating; implementing would-be incentive programs that do not incentivize; or meddling in people’s lives with no invitation.
Along the way, we have learned a great deal about what influences people and what does not. Here is the most important of many important lessons.
Trust and Influences!
Trust is everything. Building trust with people is paramount before they can begin to believe. Economically fragile people have experienced numerous setbacks and many disappointments. They have learned to withhold trust. They will typically be less ready to trust compared to those whose life experiences have been more positive. At Dasher, we never stop working on building trust. We are also obsessively careful not to violate it, because trust lost is very hard to regain.
How do you build trust? Be trustworthy.
In our next blog entry, we will begin explain Dasher’s Team Member Prosperity and Success Model.
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